


Chains

by Coyotebee



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: M/M, Tumblr Memes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-08
Updated: 2013-06-08
Packaged: 2017-12-14 06:43:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,542
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/833909
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Coyotebee/pseuds/Coyotebee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Harry's been wearing a necklace Louis has given him, and the band's manager meets with the two of them to discuss it. Based on this <a href="http://nialling.tumblr.com/post/52305099336/au-meme-harry-and-louis-get-called-into-a">AU meme.</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	Chains

**Author's Note:**

> This is a bit sad, I warn you.

Louis waits in the sitting room of Paul’s hotel suite. It’s early enough that Louis’ cheeks are dry and tight from the shower. There’s a pile of papers and shots of the band spread on the coffee table.

Paul had called him in here right after he finished breakfast. Now he’s gone to fetch Harry who’s having mousse slathered into his hair and acne treatment applied to his forehead by their makeup team.

When Paul asks to talk to Louis and Harry and none of the other boys, it means they’re about to be briefed on how to behave in the upcoming days, and he’ll assess how they’ve been doing so far. Louis is more on the edge about this meeting – it’s impromptu and too soon since their last one. It’s going to rub him and Harry the wrong way, he can tell.

***

_In the living room, Louis dumps his six shopping bags onto the armchair._

_“Are those mostly clothes?” Harry asks from the couch._

_“Yep!”_

_“Don’t tell Liam. He’ll give you a fatherly scolding about how you shouldn’t waste money.”_

_“I plan to actually wear these clothes though,” Louis says. Louis has promised that before, but this time he feels more dedication to the goal. So long as he makes use of what he buys, Liam won’t be on his case._

_“Good luck,” Harry says._

_“Hey, I got you something,” Louis says. He digs between a selection of colourful jumpers._

_“Is it a quesadilla? I’ve been craving one since yesterday,” Harry says over the crinkling of the bag._

_“Yes, it’s quesadilla,” Louis says._

_Out from the folds of cotton, comes a perfectly square box that fits in his hand._

_“It’s a very small quesadilla. Which I wrapped in shiny blue paper. That has a bow on it.”_

_Harry’s eyes widen in fear, not surprise. “Oh, God! Have I missed an anniversary? What’s this for?”_

_Louis laughs and shakes his head. “Because you’re my boyfriend and I get to give my boyfriend things. That’s all. Indulge me!”_

***

Paul clatters in, Harry tailing him. Harry’s mouth is slightly agape, inquisitive. Louis straightens his spine, readying himself for the bullshit that’s coming their way. Harry goes over to stand beside him and they peer at their manager. 

“Did you two rest up last night? Long day ahead. There’ll be promo before the show, and we’re flying out straight after,” Paul says.

“Yeah, we slept well,” Louis says.

If they weren’t about to discuss a tense and precarious issue, Harry would have giggled.

Paul takes a breath. “So, first thing – you two have been great, lately. You’ve been doing everything we’ve asked of you. I know it’s tough, so thank you for having such poise through it all. We’re in the most intensive weeks of promo and I promise the reigns will be loosened after this.”

“Okay,” Louis says. There’s no other comment to give on it. He’s not about to say anything like, “No problem. We do what we gotta do.” That’s not how it is for him and Harry.

“One more thing to ask of you – to Harry, specifically,” Paul says and points to centre of Harry’s chest. “The paper plane necklace.”

Harry snaps his fingers over the pendant. His eyes become severe. “Yeah? What about it?”

“The fans have caught on?” Louis asks.

Paul nods.

Louis bows his head, and his insides ice over instantly. He won’t let anything crack its way through.

“They’re a perceptive bunch,” Paul says. “So… you shouldn’t wear the necklace in public anymore.”

***

_“It’s great! Just the sort of thing I wear,” Harry says, dangling the necklace from his finger. The paper plane swings forward, like it’s really flying in the air._

_Louis smiles at him. “I saw it in a shop, and it reminded me of us. Sort of weird to say, I know. I think it’s because paper planes remind me of being a boy... of, you know, being in class and shooting them at people’s faces. And we were just kids when we met on the X-Factor. I like to think the paper plane relates to that time.”_

***

“Paul, it’s just a necklace. It means nothing to anyone else except us,” Louis says with a shrug.

“You boys have the tattoos already. The necklace is adding fuel to the fire,” Paul says. As usual, he’s not saying anything rigidly. It’s a tired firmness in his voice.

“Louis got this for me,” Harry says, fiddling with the chain. “Wearing it means a lot to me.”

Harry’s says it calm and slow. Louis hears the strain it takes to contort his tone like that. It’s Harry’s initial reaction to anything that bothered him – keep steady, don’t blow things up. Louis steps closer to Harry. He musters up a thin smile, but Harry doesn’t catch it. His eyes are on Paul.

“I’m sorry, Harry,” Paul says.

Harry tugs the necklace off his neck. Paul extends his hand. Nestled in Harry’s palm, the wings of the pendant catch the white light above them. The reflections flicker softly into Louis’ eyes as Harry taps at the necklace, hesitant to part with it. Louis looks away – it looks too much like Harry’s holding dying baby bird that he’s trying to nudge some life into.

“Please let me keep it on,” Harry mutters from low in his throat. He doesn’t look at Paul. 

Paul shakes his head.

“It’s fine, Harry,” Louis says. “You’ll be able to wear it in private. At home.”

Harry’s expression sours and he looks at the stark beige walls of the suite as he says, “I don’t want to have all these restrictions though… That’s what I don’t like about this. There’s this, like, massive list of things we can’t do. It’s, I don’t know... It’s really annoying.”

For all his carefulness and softness around the subject, deep under the surface, Harry’s rolling and rumbling and Louis feels it. Louis though, has used up all that aggression. He’s wilted, thinking it’s a waste of emotion to shake up Paul and the rest of the management team. He’s pushed them over, he’s rocked them sideways, and every time, they just wait him out until he’s spent.

He gained some resolve during this tour – he and Harry will wait as well, and it’ll be over. They’ll take what they can because this is bigger than them. In the past, Harry and the boys have pointed out the positive – that he and Harry live together and get to share hotel rooms. Louis will make himself feel like that’s enough.

“You’re in a boyband. There’s an image we’re trying to maintain here in order for you lads to be the best, most successful act out there. You know this,” Paul states.

“Let me have this one thing,” Harry says.

“You had a few weeks where you got to wear it. Taking it off is a small sacrifice.”

“There’s _loads_ of small sacrifices though. It adds up, you know?”

“Harry…” Louis says soothingly.

Harry does something Louis doesn’t anticipate – he tilts his palm and lets the necklace drop. The chain clinks onto the floor – dimly, desperately.

Harry takes two ragged breaths and glares at Paul. “You know, you’re… you’re choking us!”

“The contract,” Paul says. “You signed the papers.”

***

_“X-Factor were the good days,” Harry says, grinning widely. “We did whatever we wanted then.”_

_“Exactly,” Louis says._

_He takes the necklace from Harry and slides it over him. Their faces are close doing this, so before he drops the chain over this shoulders, Harry plonks a kiss on his lips. The paper plane jiggles._

***

To calm him, Louis brushes Harry’s fingers, about to take his hand.

“It’s alright,” Louis starts to say. “You can keep the necklace in your pocket or —”

Harry snaps his hand away from him. He lurches to the side so his back is toward him and Paul.

“Fuck off, Louis,” he says without looking at him. The words punch the air, not his face. Somehow, it hurts as much.

Most of all, it scares Louis. Harry doesn’t get worked up over things. He’s never been happy with a leash around his neck, yet he hasn’t been outright mad about it. That’s Louis... _was_ Louis. With all that anger fuming off of him, Louis finds Harry unfamiliar.

Harry starts walking out of the room. Louis suddenly gets it – Harry’s being like this because Louis become unfamiliar to _him_. Not long ago, Louis always made Paul fully aware of their unwillingness to do things while Harry quietly accepted it, yet nodded at Louis’ arguments. Louis isn’t supposed to be the compliant one. 

Harry can’t take that. However, Louis doesn’t see an alternate route.

He watches Harry leave. Creases form around his eyes as he squints, trying to hold back soppy tears. It’s embarrassing to do so in front of Paul, in front of anyone, so Louis forces his mouth to grin, unsure if that masks his sadness or if it makes him look more pained.

Paul shifts, mumbles something and goes to bedroom of the suite.

Once nobody’s around to see, Louis peers at the necklace on the floor. Carelessly dropped and abandoned, its significance has shrunk away. It’s empty, small, lifeless metal. Louis scoops it up. It’s cold too.

**Author's Note:**

> If there are any Social Network fans reading this, there's an inconspicuous line from the movie in here. ;)


End file.
